Food & Wine

Which is the proper wine to drink as an appetizer or with that big juicy rack of lamb you prepared? We've all been faced with a never-ending list of French and Italian wines that all seem to be the same at first sight.

Well, almost everything seems the same, until you view the difference in price.

Cost aside though, how do you select a proper bottle of wine for a specific meal? These simple guidelines will ease your wine selection process and give you a clear view for the next time you serve or order wine.

Before we even discuss the types of wine that go with specific meat and fish, we'll go over some of the basic terminology every wine drinker should be familiar with.

wine

The first important distinction one should recognize is between generic, varietal and vintage wines.

A generic wine is made of a blend of various grapes. There is no one dominant grape and these wines are labeled with generalized terms such as Chablis, Burgundy or Rhine.

A varietal wine is made of 75% of one type of grape. For example a Chardonnnay or Cabarnet Sauvignon are varietal wines.

A vintage wine is made of grapes that are harvested in a particular year. This means that at least 95% of the wine's composition is made up of grapes from the year stated on the label.

The remaining 5% of the wine is made up of different juices (wine) to make each wine unique.

Once this first distinction is made, it's time to taste the wine and learn about its characteristics.

tastings

It's actually pretty funny to hear people's discussions at wine tastings. The vocabulary is very elaborate and as the night progresses, it can even become somewhat incomprehensible. The reason being that people are supposed to spit the wine away after each tasting, but we all know they end up drinking the whole glass and, needless to say, after a few glasses people start getting quite tipsy.

tastings

Here are the most important terms you'll need to remember in case you ever attend a wine tasting festival or would simply like to know for yourself.

Aroma: The part of the wine's odor derived from the grape type and fermentation process.

Body: It is how the wine feels on the palate: its weight and fullness.

Bouquet: The portion of the wine's odor that develops after it is bottled.

Nose: It is the total odor of the wine composed of the aroma. That is the bouquet and all other factors involved.

Acidity: Indicates the pleasant tartness or sharpness of the wine's flavor due to the presence of fruit acids.